The One
by FlossAus
Summary: Set in a post Always world in which Rick and Kate are back on the beat and hiding their relationship. Investigating a murder of two reality stars from The One, a dating show, they soon realise secret relationships can be both fun and dangerous. Reviews/Feedback are the second best thing to Nathan Fillion's smile, I'll accept both.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The One – Chapter One

Author: Floss Aus

Pairing: Rick C & Kate B

Rating: T, just suggestion of adult activities!

Summary: Investigating a reality romance show murder has Castle and Beckett realising that secret romances are fun but also dangers.

Spoilers: Set in post Always world.

Disclaimer: ABC and Andrew Marlowe own them, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic inhabit them and I'm just borrowing them. I' promise to return them all – except Fillion.

Feedback: OH YES PLEASE, seriously love it!

AN: My first multi-chapter story, please let me know your thoughts about plot, characters etc etc Don't worry, Ryan is coming – promise.

The elevator doors burst open, '-but I said apples, like five times,' Richard Castle finished his sentence.

Kate turned her eyes to him, but kept walking, not breaking stride as she headed down the corridor, 'Really? I seem to recall you were enjoying yourself, I wouldn't think you want to stop that.' She grinned, arching her eyebrow just slightly.

'Well, there was that,' he replied, staring into the distance momentarily lost in a memory of their morning activities. Kate smiled, shaking her head and then pushed past the closed door, into the commotion of the crime scene.

The sun flooded into the brightly lit loft apartment, the September New York shine still bright and strong, the fall yet to really take hold. In contrast to the positively gleaming day was the blood dripping down from the balcony of the upstairs open bedroom, pooling on the living room floor.

'Cool,' Castle whispered reverently behind her, staring at the blood trail. 'Or, you know, gross and macabre.' She proceeded up the stairs, her heels clicking on the floorboards, and as she arrived on the landing a slight nod to the two uniforms standing close by, protecting the crime scene.

'Lanie, what do you got?' She asked, arriving to find her friend leaning over the bed inspecting the two bodies that lay naked and cold.

'It's John Morrison and Sarah-Beth,' Lanie replied, excitement almost evident in her voice.

'Really?'

'Who?' Both Beckett and Castle answered at the same time.

'You know, from The One,' Lanie answered Castle's question, and smiled as if it should provide all the answers he needed. His confused expression and hapless shoulder shrug charmed Kate that if not for all the witnesses she would have kissed him pretty damn fiercely in that moment. This desire was a new and constant side-effect from their evolved situation.

'That dating show, you know, one woman searches for her one true love with 25 suitors to chose from,' Kate responded to his confusion.

'More information please?' Castle motioned, rolling his hand for her to keep explaining.

'This is the host of the show, and Sarah-Beth right here is this year's One. The show is still airing right now, so I'm guessing she didn't find her one,' Esposito announced as he climbed the stairs.

'And you would know this how?' Castle grinned at his friend.

'I..um... I may have seen it, once or twice,' he ducked his head ashamedly, while Lanie smirked with clear delight.

'Espo go,' Beckett interjected.

'Okay, Morrison and Sarah-Beth Hayston were seen entering the building last night at around 10pm, the doorman let them in. Neighbours indicate they heard loud, intimate noises, at around 11.00 and then nothing else. Morrison's assistant, found them this morning, called 911.'

Lanie continued, 'Well, they were dead around midnight from what I can tell. Both had their throats slashed, and didn't put up much of a fight.'

'Drugged?' Beckett asked.

'I won't know til I do a tox screen. The intimate noises were consensual sex it seems and with the alcohol, I'd imagine they were quite sedate.'

'How do you know they were sedate?' Castle asked, curious at the medical examiner's quick assessment.

'Two empty bottles of wine, just two glasses and three empty condom rappers on the floor, I'd say they'd been going at it pretty hard,' Lanie pointed to the incriminating evidence.

'Wow good night,' Castle retorted, 'Until they were brutally murdered.'

'Where were they coming from?' Beckett answered.

'Assistant says The One Reunion Party at the Mereton Hotel,' Esposito answered. 'The suitors and suitorresses from other seasons all get together every year for a reunion party. Sarah-Beth was the guest of honour with her three final suitors.'

'Yet she went home with the host. Scandal.' Castle replied.

'This will be,' Beckett turned to him. 'This show has millions of viewers and they keep The One's choice closely guarded, even though it's filmed months in advance.'

'Millions of fans including our hardened Medical Examiner and Detectives Beckett and Esposito,' Castle smirked.

'Well Castle, I've been lacking romance in my life lately, sometimes I need to seek it vicariously through other avenues.' She smiled back to Lanie, a small pretence.

'What ...lacking,' he incredulously answered but her warning glare silenced him.

'Okay, Espo, we're going to need surveillance tapes on the building, who entered and exited during our window. Lanie, I want to know if they were just exhausted from their activities or something more. Castle, we're off to the Mereton to chat with the suitors.'

'Kate,' Lanie beckoned. 'If you see Connor from Hope's season there, you let me know. That boy is fine.'

'I know right,' Beckett grinned as she walked past Castle to the stairs, a sly wink at his aghast expression and open mouth.

'You know, when you said play it cool, and under the radar at work,' Castle started as the elevator ticked down and away from their crime scene. 'I thought you meant, cooler than say, you open straddling me at your desk. I didn't think you meant, complaining about lack of romance and adoring other men.'

'Really, adoring other men is what I said we're about to do?' She smiled, his gentle ribbing a welcome return from the tortured looks and anguished feelings they'd been masking for over a year.

Now Kate Beckett was getting to enjoy this man beside her, ever part of him and she'd never been more in it. He satisfied her in so many ways she didn't imagine possible, and not just sexually. Of course, that was amazing, four years of verbal swordplay had enriched their understanding of each other and when that expressed itself physically, well, it literally left her knees shaking. But, after that, in the morning afterwards, when awkwardness and uncomfortable reasoning beckoned, they found a way around it, he found a way. They moved straight past it, and spent the better part of the last three months ravishing each other, while avoiding detection from family and friends.

It was getting harder for Rick at home. Alexis had spent a majority of the summer with her friends, or in the Hamptons with Martha and with Rick able to use his actual looming deadline as an excuse to stay in Manhattan and work, they were alone in their chance to explore each other. However, with school coming back, Martha again on her acting class crusade and Kate finally returning to the precinct after many lengthy interviews, counselling and reprimanding from Gates, life was getting back to normal – except for the normal that involved waking up with this man beside her in her bed. It was a great kind of not normal.

They both agreed though, that for at least a little while longer to keep it between themselves. Hiding it from his daughter was the most difficult for Rick, she knew that, but he'd respected her need to understand her own feelings just a bit more before declaring themselves to Alexis. Because more than anyone else in his life, Alexis was going to be the person who had to accept this relationship or all bets were off. K ate knew the bond between a father and daughter was special, especially with an absentee parent and while their situations were different, Kate recognised a maturity in Alexis that she had – hers was forced by external factors and violently thrust upon her. Alexis was eased into her maturity, with care and love by her father. She hoped that this maturity would come to play when they decide to reveal their relationship.

Hiding from the precinct was just common sense though. The knowing looks from colleagues, the muttered jokes, the constant questions she knew everyone would have were just too much to face and worse than that, she feared serious repercussions from higher up. Captain Gates was barely tolerating Rick's return to the office, and Kate was pretty sure what she'd say on his involvement with the team, if he knew they were romantically entangled. Entangled, she liked the word now, especially with the memories of how their sheets were this morning after she'd finally answered her cell.

'No, you didn't say adoring men. Just thought the 'he's so fine talk' was going to be, you know, less,' he smiled at her, rocking on his heels the way he always did when he was feeling playful.

'I can still appreciate a good looking man Castle, in fact I appreciated one this morning, very much.' She almost hummed, turning to face him and cornering him seductively in the small space of the elevator.

'Yes, you did. There was definite appreciation. Twice, if I'm not mistaken.' He responded, an almost dazed look spreading across his face.

'Oh it was twice. I'm nothing if not appreciative.' She whispered into his ear, her other hand grazing his cheek, a seductive finger sweeping across his chin and then she swiftly exited the elevator as the doors opened leaving a stupefied and slack jawed Rick, staring at her return frame.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The One – Chapter Two  
Author: Floss Aus  
Pairing: Rick C & Kate B  
Summary: Investigating a reality romance show murder has Castle and Beckett realising that secret romances are fun but also dangers.  
Spoilers: Set in post Always world.  
Disclaimer: ABC and Andrew Marlowe own them, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic inhabit them and I'm just borrowing them. I' promise to return them all – except Fillion.  
Feedback: OH YES PLEASE, seriously love it! And as requested, quotation marks as opposed to apostrophes.  
A/N: I also added some meta Fillion career shoutouts. Apologies for the delay, work got in the way, but the next Chapter won't take so long, I promise.

"And I just loved In the Rain of Bullets," the young woman cooed, as she stroked Rick's arm, gazing adoringly into his eyes.

"It's actually In a Hail of Bullets," Kate corrected with barely veiled disgust, as she sat opposite the couple in foyer of Mereton Hotel.

"That's very kind of you Kelli," Rick answered the original compliment, a devilish grin in Kate's direction escaping the attention of the blonde reality star.

"Kelli, can you tell me more about your conversation with Sarah-Beth last night?" Kate, again interjected, attempting to get the interview back on track. It was the fourth reality starlet who'd recognised and then been completely distracted by Castle during the interview process. While it wasn't uncommon and they'd dealt with this sort of attention before, that fact that a multi-millionaire bestselling author was present, sent the ladies of The One into a feeding frenzy. Kate could see three more of them, leaning seductively against the bar, in hopes of attracting his gaze.

"Well, we only talked for a second in the bathroom but she was muttering about contracts, so I asked her who she picked and she said, that while Nate, was a renegade sort of cowboy guy, she didn't trust him. She liked Don, the fire fighter but he was a bit simple for her and James, the Doctor, well, he totally has a girlfriend back home, everyone knows that and I would have made such better choices than she did-"

"Kelli, did Sarah-Beth say anything else? Maybe mention any fights with the cast or crew?" Kate cut in, almost tersely.

"No," the blonde shot a dirty look back, the tension between the two women kicking up just a notch.

"Nothing at all about tension or any pressure?" Rick softly queried, knowing his approach was the one this wannabe starlet would respond to.

"She did say that Mark, the creator was being crazy about the finale not being spoiled. But that's pretty standard," Kelli immediately answered, despite Kate have just asked almost exactly the same question as Castle and receiving a completely different answer.

"Ok then Kelli, you can go." Kate dismissed her quickly.

"Are you sure you don't have any more questions Rick? I'm here for the entire weekend, at this hotel. Maybe later, in the bar, we could catch up." Kate almost squeaked with shock at how forward the young woman was being.

"Well, I definitely think about it Kelli, it's been great talking to a fan." Rick replied, extracting his arm from her almost vice like grip.

They stood quickly and walked out of earshot, standing near the hotel entrance, leaning into each closely, probably more than necessary but Rick couldn't resist. After the drowning, drenching perfume of the starlets, he only wanted to inhale the subtle and sweet aroma of his partner. She stared back at him, her eyes ablaze with shock and humour in equal measure. Five years ago, this would have been heaven in a hotel foyer for him, salivating young women, almost ready to leap sofas to be with him but it was different now.

It would be easy to say that on the first day he met her, he'd been irrevocably changed and she altered the course of life. That wasn't true though, that was a fairy tale description that simplified what this amazing woman meant to him. It wasn't black and white, theirs was a romance built on shades of grey. And while suffering her rejection and dismissal was hell at the time, right now, it felt kind of right to Richard Castle. He was the kind of man who needed to get burnt and she had spent years delivering the pain. Now though, the passion was exquisite, the pleasure replacing the pain and he wanted to swim in. He woke most mornings ecstatic and thoroughly sated, her naked frame beside him, or lying draped across his chest in her own satisfied slumber.

The only dark cloud to this spectacle of sunshine was his hiding the relationship from Alexis. They hadn't initially planned too, and in fact, the very next day, if Alexis had arrived home when she'd intended, all would been revealed, but she called from friend's house, the group of girls still not ready to let go and promised to catch up with him the next day. It continued this way, unplanned avoidance that rolled through an easy summer with weekends away and trips with Alexis, that meant they never found the right time to address it and now, finding himself in September, with a relationship that meant more to him than he cared to question and his most beloved daughter completely unaware.

"Okay, well, I think we're done here," Beckett sighed dejectedly.

"What...why...there are at least three more former contestants from Sarah-Beth's season we haven't spoken to," Castle replied, a cheeky grin appearing on his face.

"Oh I'm sure, you'd really enjoy that. More ladies to swoon over how amazing it is that you can actually write books and like, oh my God, do you, write it out in pen or like type it up." Beckett mocked the inane and idiotic questions he'd been peppered with all morning.

"Green is so not your color, you know," He quipped back.

"Oh right sure, these teenagers make me feel so threatened." She almost laughed, despite the crowded foyer. This playing it cool thing was proving difficult, for sure. "We need to speak with this creator Mark guy." She whipped out her cell and dialled the precinct while Castle turned further away from the preening blondes, who were practically crawling for his attention. After a short exchange, she hung up the phone with an angry grunt.

"What?" He queried, her tone an instant alert to stop playing with her.

"Due to the confidential nature of The One, Mark Fletcher, is lawyered up the eyeballs and awaiting their direction before talking with police."

"Wow, talk about take this way too seriously." Castle responded, shocked at the secretive nature of the show. They began walking back to the street heading towards Beckett's car.

"You mean, you've never actually seen an episode of The One?" She replied.

"Kate, I am man of many interests. Many, many, many interests, but reality romance shows – ehh, just doesn't float my boat."

"Well, prepared to be enlightened. We've got some research to do on these people, and I believe, my DVR is filled with this season's The One."

"So when you say your DVR, you mean in the one in your apartment, with the couch, and the bedroom, and the kitchen counter and the shower." He arched an eyebrow, the suggestion playing across his face.

"That very apartment," she grinned in response.

To Be Continued – Lanie calls with news and Castle attempts to distract Kate from research.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The One – Chapter Three  
Author: Floss Aus  
Pairing: Rick C & Kate B  
Summary: Investigating a reality romance show murder has Castle and Beckett realising that secret romances are fun but also dangers.  
Spoilers: Set in post Always world.  
Disclaimer: ABC and Andrew Marlowe own them, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic inhabit them and I'm just borrowing them. I' promise to return them all – except Fillion.  
Feedback: Thanks for the kind words so far, I really do appreciate them.

* * *

"Oh come on," he shouted at the screen, Kate sitting beside him, grinning at his frustration. "That is the like third city she's called the perfect place to fall in love."

"It's not supposed to be real Castle," she laughed at him, as he walked to the kitchen, refilling his glass of water.

"Oh so, this whole reality television thing, it's allowed to have a complete lack of reality," he replied and again she was taken with his frustration. Normally Kate found herself on the other side of such discussions, always the disbeliever, always the cynic. Now though, the idea of manipulated love and terrible dialogue had him enraged.

"I can't believe you're shocked. In fact, I can't believe you've never been asked to be on the show before. They've gotten pretty desperate in the last few years," she mocked, rising to meet him at the counter, placing her notes down.

"I was," he stated matter of factly.

"But earlier, you said you'd never heard of the show?" She raised a curious eyebrow.

"No, I didn't remember the show," he responded. "Now, seeing that ugly rose laden logo, it brings back all the memories."

"When?" she asked, still slightly shocked.

"A year or two before I started working with you, just as Derrick Storm was really taking off. The PR team at the publishers loved the idea," He almost shuddered at the thought.

"Wow Castle, I'm surprised. You and a room full of eager women, wanting show you just how much they love and admire you. I can't believe you turned it down?" She teased.

"Come on Kate," he grinned, moving around the counter to stand before her. "You know me, I'm a chase man. That crap," he pointed to the frozen image of a contestant pouring her heart and cleavage out, "that's for amateurs." She smiled at his response.

"Also, my side profile can be tricky to catch in good light, reality TV wouldn't do me justice." He smirked at her and despite her best intentions to work this evening, despite sitting side by side on the couch all afternoon, and despite avoiding his many suggestions of opening a bottle of wine, she just couldn't resist any longer. Hell, she'd been impressed with her restraint for the past three hours.

She pulled him to her lips, pressing them firmly, passionately against his own and without hesitation he responded, his hands circling her waist, drawing her closer to him. It was like coming home, yet every kiss felt different and new. Richard Castle had a reputation that she assumed was based on his own self circulated hype. Seriously, how good could an author be in bed, she'd often wondered, when talking herself out of their possible relationship time and time again. But now, oh God, now she knew different. Powerful, strong, not afraid to say her name, not afraid to ask her what to do, where to place the kiss, that would give her maximum satisfaction. Fast learner too, boy, he'd spent the past three months clearly remembering every reaction she'd had to his touch and now, he could make her whimper with barely a hand across her stomach.

He pushed her against the bench, lifting her legs to circle his waist, his strong arms holding her above him and placing her onto the slate counter. She tore hungrily at his shirt, buttons popping against her desperate need to touch his chest, feel his skin against her own.

"That's five this month," he mumbled heavily, in between her deepening kisses.

"Five what?" Kate could barely stammer in return.

"That's five shirts you've ruined ripping off me." And she could almost feel his cheeky grin against her neckline, where he was now planting hot, open mouthed kisses against her collarbone, causing her breath to catch.

A knock on the door interrupted them and for a moment, they stood, frozen, Kate perched on the bench her legs wrapped around a shirtless Rick, his hands stopped in the process of removing her own shirt.

The knock came again, and then a voice followed when they still didn't reply, "Kate, it's me, open up girl," Lanie shouted.

"Crap," Kate whispered, running a shaking hand through Rick's hair. "Hide."

"What?" He practically squeaked.

"Hide," she repeated, urgency rising in her voice as she re-buttoned her shirt and extracted herself from his hold. "Just, go in the bathroom," she pointed, almost in a flurry as she attempted to straighten herself out. He rose an questioning eyebrow at her but said nothing, and scurried down the hall, before turning back and grabbing his own shirt off the bench.

"Coming," Kate attempted to sound light and breezy, but knew she was failing pretty badly. Swinging the door open, she found Lanie already suspiciously eyeing her.

"Javier told me you were home watching The One episodes for research," she placed a bottle of white wine in Kate's hands and moved passed her and into her friend's apartment.

"Yeah," Kate mumbled, following slowly, trying to come up with excuses that would get rid of Lanie. For a detective with honed skills on social situations, she was failing miserable in this moment. "Gates wasn't exactly thrilled with me watching them at the precinct."

"Well, you can add to your notes," Lanie pointed to the slightly dishevelled pile on the counter, "that both the victims were drugged. Still waiting for tox results to see exactly what with, but it's not anything common."

"Good, it will be easier to trace then," Kate attempted to usher Lanie to the door, but her friend, stopped suddenly in her tracks, as if struck with a thought.

Kate wasn't surprised Lanie was here. She knew her friend's suspicion had been growing in the past few weeks. Of course, she had no idea that it was Castle that Kate had been seeing, but still, the always postponed coffees, the spring in Kate's step that no matter how hard she tried, couldn't disguise, hell, the tan she gotten sitting on Rick's pool deck in Hampton's for a weekend. Lanie wasn't a fool and she'd been hinting pretty hard for days about Kate's evening whereabouts. Normally, she would have called before dropping by, but Kate knew what this was, this was a surprise attack, hoping to catch in her the act; the very act that was now hiding in her bathroom.

"Um, why are there buttons on your floor?" Lanie pointed to the scattered buttons that had popped off Rick's shirt only moments earlier.

"Buttons?" Kate tried to play dumb and pretended to inspect the floor to no avail.

"Girl," Lanie just stared at her. "You are not fooling anyone here. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Kate slowly responded, the answer more a high pitched question than denial.

"Who is here?" Lanie turned around herself, her sudden rush of excitement, almost making her giddy.

"No one," again Kate's pitch and tone gave her away.

"Beckett, don't you think it's time to give it up." Castle's voice spun Lanie's head in his direction.

"WHAT?" She squealed, staring at the writer who stood in her friend's hallway, his grey shirt hanging open, revealing what Page Six once described as the best abs in American literature.

Kate dropped her head, a smile of embarrassment mixed with pride crossing her face. She could tell Rick was enjoying the moment also. He stood there, his hands on his hips, a cocky grin, as Lanie's head flicked between the two of them.

"I KNEW IT!" she continued to squeal. "I mean, not exactly knew it was you and him this time, but I knew at some point this was going to happen."

Moving towards Kate, Rick grabbed his jacket that had been hastily thrown behind the couch. "I'm going to go now, let you two talk," he kissed her cheek lightly, a farewell of ease and routine.

"Chicken," she whispered to him, causing a soft chuckle from him.

"Lanie, a pleasure, I'll see you both later," he smiled at them both, a gave a slight bow before sliding out Kate's door, a mischievous grin not leaving his face until he arrived at his loft.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: The One – Chapter Four  
**Author**: Floss Aus  
**Pairing**: Rick C & Kate B  
**Summary**: Investigating a reality romance show murder has Castle and Beckett realising that secret romances are fun but also dangerous to those around them.  
**Spoilers**: Set in post Always world.  
**Disclaimer**: ABC and Andrew Marlowe own them, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic inhabit them and I'm just borrowing them. I' promise to return them all – except Fillion.  
**Feedback**: And thanks for the kind words so far, I promise to get back to the case at some point.

* * *

She stared at her, hard. She wouldn't look away or pretend not to be studying her face for some kind of reaction. Kate had called for backup, what felt like hours ago but sitting here, she knew, even then, it was going to be difficult to talk her way out of this one. Lanie shifted on the stool she was perched on, the glass of wine still in her hand. She'd wanted to leave, but Kate threw her a pleading look and with the mood that Alexis Castle seemed to be in, she needed as much support as possible.

_Two Hours Earlier_

Richard Castle walked into his apartment, the smile still planted on his face. He could just imagine the conversation Kate was now stuck in with Lanie. Her eyes had almost popped straight out of her head when he'd appeared from Kate's bathroom, barely clothed and still ruffled from their kisses. He felt a little guilty, not checking with Kate before he decided to reveal himself, but short of hiding in her tub, Lanie was going to find out. He could hear their conversation through the door, noting the flimsy and vague excuses Kate was giving her friend. It made him chuckle to think that his unflappable partner was so easily thrown off her game.

"Dad," Alexis voice cut into his thoughts.

"WHAA" he practically screamed, not at all prepared to find his daughter sitting on the couch, almost anticipating his arrival. "Alexis, honey, Hi," his voice dropping back into its regular deep register.

"Hey Dad," she returned his smile but it didn't reach her eyes and he knew it, straight away he could spot something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, coming to sit by her on the couch, draping an arm across the back. For a moment she stayed silent, just staring up into his eyes, and in that instant, he could barely believe she was nineteen.

"I know you're seeing someone," she finally uttered dropping her head, a flash of embarrassment crossing her face. "And I'm sort of wondering, why you're keeping it from me?"

His face fell; he could almost literally feel it. Here sat his beautiful, bold, brave amazing daughter, staring at him, asking why he'd been lying to her. And the secrecy, which even he could admit had been sexy and alluring, the fun and frivolity of hiding his relationship with Kate evaporated in an instant. Now, he just felt immature and shallow and looking into Alexis' eyes, full of betrayal, he felt cruel.

"I.." he didn't even know how to start, "Honey, I never meant to lie to you," he slowly continued. "But yes, you're right, I'm in a relationship."

"Is it Mom?" she snapped, anger flaring and days of frustration rose to the surface. She'd spotted something amiss weeks ago. Sure, she'd spent a great deal of her summer with her friends and then taken a trip to Malibu to visit her mother, in which they'd had a particularly interesting conversation about why she hadn't attended her own daughter's graduation. Her Dad had offered to come get her from LA, citing production meetings for Nikki Heat as a reason to come out. When he came to her mother's house, it was awkward and stilted and her mother, not the world's best actress was off and her Dad, in his own way, was strange as well.

When they'd returned to New York, the strangeness continued and then she would come home with random frequency and he'd been gone, having not slept in his bed. At first she put it down to a murder case but after almost three weeks of secretly monitoring his sleeping habits, she was now, finally confronting him.

"No," he stated emphatically, firmly, knowing that going down that path was confusing and frustrating for his daughter, but also, now being with Kate, just, well...his relationship with Meredith didn't compare.

"Then whoever it is, I don't understand why you're lying to me," she replied. "Why you're sneaking around and not staying here."

"I..um," he wanted to tell her, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but he also understood that this, unlike joking around with Lanie, was serious. This was his child, and while Kate and he had been fooling around all summer, the actual nuts and bolts of their relationship hadn't come up. How did she feel about children, about Alexis knowing? He wanted so badly to have those answers at hand so he could tell Alexis everything, but he just knew without Kate's consent, it was a step too far.

"I can't say at the moment," he finally answered. "And it's not because I'm ashamed of you, or don't trust you or anything else you're about to say to me. It's because it is becoming serious and the ramifications of it being public knowledge are also pretty serious."

His daughter glared at him, her blue eyes blazing with offence, "So I am just part of this public that can't know. About a very serious relationship you're having."

"Honey, I want to tell you, I really, really do but I have to respect the other person in this."

"By lying to me? Not very respectful to your own daughter," she huffed crossing her arms.

"Hey, you know I respect you, you know that." He paused, trying to find the right words to balance two women in his life. "You're becoming an adult now, and yes I know, really you've been an adult a lot longer than I have. In my life, I've got complicated relationships which I'd like to manage before I bring them home to you."

"Why because you're embarrassed to have a daughter?"

"No Alexis, that's not it all. I want to make them fit into my life, not the other way around. And okay, I may have been a little late with the details and maybe I should have let you know that I was seeing someone sooner, but it's difficult and this relationship means a great deal to me."

"Come on Dad," she rose from the couch, her anger driving her forward, away from the growing sadness on her father's face. "As if some airline steward is interested in a serious relationship with a man who has a teenage daughter. Not even your books and bank account will cover that." And with that, she slammed the door.

"You can't not say anything," Lanie squealed as Kate poured them the wine.

"Watch me," she smiled, her eyes dancing and Lanie almost clapped with joy. For too long she'd watched her friend almost drown in misery and sorrow, always burdened by the past, always trying to make amends for a crime she had no part in. Richard Castle had from the moment he'd stepped into her friend's life brought light and fun, maybe returning Kate to the girl she used to be, a girl Lanie never knew. This woman though, a possible combination of the girl and the burdened detective, with her wicked grin and playful side burning through, this Kate Beckett is the person Lanie always hoped was one day coming out of the ashes.

"Seriously, though, those abs, oh my God," Lanie pretended to fan herself.

"I'm not commenting," Kate sat down next to her on the couch.

"He is a tall man, isn't he? And big, you know, writer hands," Lanie jokingly appraised her own. "You wonder, big man, big hands..." she trailed off and Kate broke down into hysterical laughter, her friend clearly having too much fun at her expense.

"Are you asking me any kind question?" Kate asked, wiping tears from her face.

"Is he making you happy?" Lanie smiled, and Kate's mouth fell open in shock. "No, not that kind of happy, damn, you're just as bad as me!"

A rap on the door interrupted them and Kate rose to answer it, but turned her over shoulder to Lanie as she walked by, "Yes, he is making me very happy. On both counts," she winked mischievously and Lanie almost screamed in delight.

Kate swung open the door, "Hel-Alexis?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you but I need to talk, it's important." The younger Castle, stormed into her apartment, not even waiting for a response.

"Hey Alexis," Lanie greeted her, a wary look shot in Kate's direction as the redhead planted herself on Kate's couch. "I'm going to let you two-" but the pleading glance Kate shot her, stopped in her mid-sentence and she moved not to the door, but the counter, making sure to take her glass of wine with her.

"Alexis, what's up?" Kate asked hesitantly, already sensing her mood.

"My Dad's seeing someone, and it's serious and he won't tell me who," she rambled. "And I know we're not supposed to talk about it, and he'd kill me if he knew I was here, but Detective Beckett, you've got to make a move."

"What?" Kate stammered, shock ricocheting through her body.

"I confronted him this afternoon, and told him I knew. And then he went all serious, and wouldn't tell me who it was, he said he wanted to respect this person's privacy. But he always tells me everything. And Lanie, I know you've said I'm supposed to stay out of it." Kate shot Lanie a look that told her they would be talking about this issue later. "But seriously, Detective Beckett, the look on his face... I've never really seen that look before."

Just for a moment, Kate smiled to herself. She couldn't believe Rick hadn't told Alexis, his own daughter about their relationship when confronted with it. And then the smiled evaporated because it actually hurt, she hurt for him. She knew how much Alexis meant to him, how she was basically his entire world, and for him to stay silent and endure a betrayed daughter, clearly seething at him, it spoke volumes to her.

"Alexis, I..." Kate tried to cut in but she was still going, her hands flying around her as she spoke in a constant world wind.

"And the thing is, he likes you, he really does. And I know he wants to be with you, or I know he did. He'd never say anything to me, but come on, how stupid does he think I am? I've read the Nikki Heat books."

"Alexis, I need to tell you something." Kate spoke a little louder, trying to get her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lanie urging her on.

"The reason your Dad hasn't said anything about seeing someone, is that I asked him not to."

"Wait...it's you, he's seeing you, isn't he?" She faced Kate, suddenly quiet and jitter free.

"Yes," she replied and silence befell the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: The One – Chapter Five  
**Author**: Floss Aus  
**Pairing**: Rick C & Kate B  
**Summary**: Investigating a reality romance show murder has Castle and Beckett realising that secret romances are fun but also dangerous to those around them.  
**Spoilers**: Set in post Always world.  
**Disclaimer**: ABC and Andrew Marlowe own them, Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic inhabit them and I'm just borrowing them.  
**A/N**: Ok, I wrote two entire chapters and then just as I was about to post, HATED them. After deleting them, I went back and rewrote so apologies for the long delay. We're in Alexis' head for this one. I've also been stalking the amazing series **Dead to the World** from **Lueska** with an amazingly dark and angsty post Always twist. It's an awesome story and the writing is SO good – go read it now!

* * *

It all made sense now. Of course it was Detective Beckett, that her Dad was seeing. Alexis had, after all known for some time that he had feelings for her. He would never admit to it and he tried, time and again to hide it from her. But Alexis Castle knows many things about her father and one of them is that he can't really mask his feelings that well, least of all from her.

Alexis remembered becoming aware of it all, the summer when he temporarily started dating Gina again. She didn't really have a problem with Gina but as she watched him in the Hamptons, frolicking with her, plastering his face with a happy time expression, she felt it. She felt it was forced, she could see the cracks, the moments when his face would fall, staring absently into the distance, thoughts drifting away. The one or two occasions she was around that someone mentioned that 'pretty girl cop' she would see her father physically bristle. It was subtle, it was so slight that she didn't really pay much attention to it, but it caught her interest.

That following year, even though he'd returned to shadowing Detective Beckett, she could see it. Recognising his growing attachment that went beyond any writing muse and she watched him fight it. She watched them banter and then bicker, and then she would see the moments that got him down, the moments in the shadows before he realised that she was standing at his office door. Maybe it was because of her own growth, maybe because she was becoming an adult herself, she could recognise it, she saw the hurt he was carrying.

There was no greater moment of realisation though than watching him stare for hours down a long white corridor with blood covering his hands while Detective Beckett fought for her life on the operating table. As she stood with him at the sink and washed away the dried blood, the water a sickly colour and saw his face blank with despair, she knew this was no infatuation, it was so much more.

Sitting here, in Detective Beckett's apartment, as the woman in question answered the door, her father sure to be on the other side, Alexis had to wonder: did she feel the same way? Because although she knew without a doubt that her father was in love with Kate Beckett, Alexis really wondered how Kate felt about him?

She watched them work together for years, seen the growing commaraderie but Kate Beckett was a tough woman to read. She was professional, proficient and precise. She was beyond kind to Alexis, but she felt a wall between them, an unspoken distance that Alexis just couldn't figure out.

So to see her father fall so hard for this woman, on one hand, excited Alexis more than it should. On the other hand though, when he fell, he fell hard and she knew that just because her Dad was tall and strong on the outside, didn't mean he wasn't sensitive and just as easily broken on the inside.

They both walked back towards her, their eyes darting between each other and to her, Detective Beckett especially, trying to gauge a reaction of some kind. Her father, let Kate walk in front of him and Alexis noticed a guiding hand placed on her back. Funny, Detective Beckett never seemed like a woman who needed to be led but then she realized, it wasn't about the leading, it was about the touch.

"Before you say anything," Alexis began, as both the adults before her sat on the couch, side by side, "I want to explain myself."

Her father couldn't, despite his best attempts, hide his smile of pride. She knew how much he valued her honesty with him and how much her words only hours ago would have hurt him. She also knew, the writer in him, loved her using her words instead of stormy out of rooms like the teenager she sometimes still behaved like.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you Dad, I was angry and I guess, confused." She wanted him to know that first, before anything else was discussed.

"Thank you for saying so," he replied, nodding her along.

"I…I thought you were seeing someone else; someone less important." She saw Detective Beckett flinch in slight shock at her valuation. "I'm not angry that it's you Detective Beckett, I promise I'm not some nightmare daughter you have to worry about."

"It's Kate," she interrupted gently. A small pause and then she continued, "and Alexis you have every right to be angry. But I asked your father to keep this low key, it wasn't exactly his choice to hide it from anyone, especially you."

Alexis said nothing for a moment, just shrugged her shoulders with acceptance and understanding. She wanted to ask more, wanted to know how it worked but she couldn't, this was her Father's personal space and she couldn't demand it from him.

"Alexis, I want you to know that I love your Dad," Kate said, while sliding her fingers into Rick's hands. He stared at her in shock and his daughter wanted to giggle at her father's bug eyed expression. "What? I think it's important that she know how I feel." Kate answered his look indignantly.

"It is, of course, but wow, just putting it out there, like that. I'm impressed," he teased.

"Just because I don't worship at your sometimes over inflated ego altar like the many fan girls, doesn't mean I don't love you." She teased back, nudging him gently.

"I prefer to think of them as fan-women," he chuckled.

"Well, they certainly don't dress like women," Kate hit back, all the while the smile creeping further up her face.

And Alexis knew, in that moment, with such a small exchange that it was a partnership, an equal terms. So strange that a simple exchange would do that, lay a relationship bare like it was now before her but she could see in Kate's playful nudge, see in her Dad's tender hand hold, see in the shared smirks that this was more. In that moment she forgave them for the secrecy, forgave for them for hiding because if it got them here then her stinging pride for an hour was more than worth it.


End file.
